Wolverine Becomes ‘Killable’ This Summer

With a blockbuster film hitting theaters this summer, you’d think that Wolverine would be on top of the world. Though the film version of the character is ready to come out claws slashing in ‘The Wolverine’, it appears that the comic book counterpart is gearing up for quite the ordeal that will result in the iconic Marvel character losing one of the things that makes him the best at what he does.

At this year’s C2E2, Comic Book Resources learned that the fan favorite mutant would be losing his healing factor in the pages of ‘Wolverine’ #8 from writer Paul Cornell and artist Alan Davis. In a story arc called “Killable”, Logan loses his mutant ability and is left incredibly vulnerable to all harm. Cornell says that he can’t say how this happens, but he goes into how the X-Man and Avenger copes with this heavy loss:

“It sets a chill into him that starts slowly and keeps going. It doesn’t just frighten him, it shakes him to the core. He tries not to show it, but it changes everything about him. “Mortal,” the one-off story in #7, goes into the immediate changes, but it’s going to keep going, informing everything he does and really paying off with terrible results by the end of ‘Killable’. It’s like an enormous shadow is looming over him. Which is, as others comment, just what the rest of us live with every day. He’s going to take a walk through the valley of the shadow of death.”

The writer then goes on to talk about the themes of the story and how it all ties in with the history of the character:

Art from ‘Wolverine’ #8

“It’s about what happens when someone whose entire persona, fighting style and attitude is shaped by one big factor in their lives loses that. Logan has always gone into battle allowing himself to take a certain amount of damage. That’ll have to change, but that takes doing. He’s always assumed he had a long time to figure things out, to let life happen, but now, should he be more committed, should he make his relationships more important, should he try and start a family and keep it together, just for once? Most warriors have to deal with the idea of death. This is new to him, and it changes the sort of warrior he is. It makes him braver and tougher, because now he has everything to lose. But that journey to braver and tougher is a very difficult one.”

Finally, after revealing that his long-time nemesis Sabretooth and some of his dearest friends like Kitty Pryde, Storm, and Black Panther will be playing a part in this story that strips away an essential part of Logan, Cornell reveals where the motivation for the story came from:

“It’s highly emotional. It comes from my own mortal thoughts as a result of becoming a Dad. If you do that at my age, mid-forties, you do feel a little as if you’re training your replacement. That maybe you’re done now. And that vein I’ve opened pours straight into Logan. Is he done now? Can he go? Or is there life in the old man yet?”

Another interesting bit that the writer brought up was that the idea was brought up at a Marvel creative summit. About two months ago, a report was released saying that Wolverine would be biting the bullet next year, despite his thriving schedule in both print and onscreen. Back then, it was more so a question of how considering that he had his famous healing factor to keep him alive after every battle, but now that Cornell is taking that away from Logan, could things be right on track for the character to meet his demise in 2014? We’ll have to see how ‘Killable’ and following storylines play out since it’s very possible that the rumor could end up being the truth.

Also, even if they don’t flat out kill him next year, Logan will be in excruciating pain every time that he unleashes his claws. With no healing factor to keep the pain of those adamantium blades piercing his skin at bay, every blow he dishes out will make him wish that he’s dead.

What do you think about Wolverine losing his healing factor in ‘Wolverine’ #8? Do you think that this will definitely lead to the character’s death next year? And above all, how do you think Logan will come to lose one of his trademark abilities? Share your theories in the comments.

Ben Silverio

Ben F. Silverio received a degree from Drexel University in the Screenwriting and Playwriting Program with a minor in Television Production. While at Drexel, Ben co-founded and co-hosted a film review show called The Pretentious Film Majors, which has evolved into a multi-format form of entertainment including blogs, podcasts on iTunes, articles in the school paper, and a potential tv show. Now armed with an extremely expensive piece of paper, Ben can begin climbing the treacherous ladder of the entertainment industry, which he hopes to do while streaming WWE wrestling matches, reading Marvel comics, and blogging about the excessive amount of movies and tv shows that he watches, all on the iPhone that is permanently attached to his hand.